The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen. […] The second note, the high alarum, not so familiar and always important since it indicates the paramount sin in Man's private calendar, took most of them by surprise although they had been well prepared.

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Sin/wesen is a verb with two infinitives and mostly identical conjugation, similar to Dutch zijn/wezen. Some forms, such as the imperative (sit/west), may differ depending on the infinitive preferred, but in general which one was used was a matter of personal preference. (This is also true for modern Low German.)